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Landsknecht
The Landsknecht, known simply as Swordsman in Japan, is a recurring class featured in Etrian Odyssey 1, 2, and 4. Their weapon of choice is usually the sword; however they are also capable of wielding Axes (EO1/2) and Rapiers (EO4). They are often a Jack-of-All-Trades melee class, opting for well-balanced stats instead of a specific focus. For example, they have lower HP and DEF than a Protector, and lower ATK and SPD than a Bushi, but are well-rounded in all of those stats, making them very reliable in a wide variety of situations, rather than filling an extremely niche role. Profile EO1= |-| EOU = |-| EO2 = |-| EO2U= |-| EO4 = |-| EON = Gameplay Etrian Odyssey The Landsknecht fills the role of balanced frontline attacker, with above-average ATK and HP, and the second-best DEF growth. Their movepool consists of physical attacks against one or many enemies, attack buffs, and supporting elemental skills. However, their style of combat is strictly focused around their weapon of choice, and their low TP forces the player to save combat skills for bigger battles, which can limit the Landsknecht in random encounters. Sword skills like Tornado and Allslash hit multiple enemies at once, which coupled with this class' high ATK makes them ideal for crowded battles, while Cleaver serves as the high-damaging (though not very impressive) single-target skill. On the other hand, Axe skills give them greater damage against single enemies - a max level Crush is one of the most devastating attacks in the game, while Stunner and Silencer have a decent chance at stunning or binding the heads of enemies, respectively. Chaser skills like Blazer, Freezer and Shocker will follow up any respective elemental attack with an elemental slash, but if no other party members execute an elemental attack (either by not acting or getting stunned/bound/killed) the turn and TP will be wasted. This class also has War Cry and Hell Cry, which increase ATK in exchange for DEF and HP; these skills usually require a Protector in the team to mitigate the acquired fragility, but a Troubadour with Bravery can render them almost useless. Arm Heal is mostly situational, in cases where the Medic is unable to heal, while Flee works if one needs to escape from a floor but doesn't want to waste a Warp Wire. The skill point limit usually forces players to chose only one style of combat; however, a mixed Landsknecht is possible with 72 SP and a little planning. For example, rest, level to Lv70 and allocate the points in the following manner: This way you can give your Landsknecht a sword for map exploration, and an axe for fighting bosses and FOE, while also retaining elemental skills. While it's possible for the Landsknecht to have less raw damage potential than the Protector (with Smite) or the Survivalist, they also have more variety and less TP cost than the former, and more durability than the latter. Etrian Odyssey IV Landsknechts have a greatly revamped skill set, focused around getting the first hit in and boosting the strength of their allies moving afterwards. As such, their efficiency is very team-dependent. A Landsknecht shines best when paired with and amplifying the strength of other DPS classes like a Sniper or Runemaster. When building around Link skills, it's important to have party members with as many multi-hit skills as possible, so a Sniper's Squall Volley or Nightseeker's Swift Edge will do just nicely in triggering many follow-ups. A Landsknecht is capable of wielding swords or rapiers - use swords for raw power, and rapiers if you need the speed bonus for better chances of going first. For the early part of the game, start with a point in Sonic Raid, Proficiency, and Vanguard. Vanguard will become your staple buff for boss fights as further investment only increases its strength while the penalty remains unchanged. However, Sonic Raid is still useful for triggering the class skills in random encounters without needing to wait to set up Vanguard. At this stage in the game, the Link skills are not very useful, and will only serve as a means for the Landsknecht to strike elemental weaknesses. Power and Mind Break can be useful, but bear in mind that wielding a shield makes the Landsknecht more dependent on Vanguard to get past the speed penalty. Invest a bit into Power Boost as well to improve the Landsknecht's base strength. Once Veteran skills are unlocked, Initiative becomes an important investment - however, its efficiency peters off very quickly past the halfway point, so don't waste too many skill points there. Dip enough points into Double Strike to unlock Spiral Slice or Penetrate, and invest accordingly depending on the weapon of choice for your Landsknecht. Link-based Landsknechts will need investment in Improved Link - this will cause the Link skills to trigger more times and reach their full potential. You will need to constantly take two turns to refresh Vanguard and Improved Link to make the most of it, though. Master skills are few but very good. Link Mastery is a definite must for Link-based Landsknechts, and the ultimate skills for swords and rapiers offer great damage against enemies without elemental weaknesses, or in times when the team cannot easily follow up on Links. Weapon Parry is great for covering the Landsknecht's lack of defenses if he chooses to use both a sword and rapier at the same time. Etrian Odyssey Nexus The Landsknechts in this game carry their skill set over from Etrian Odyssey IV, with several improvements. Landsknechts can now be built in three different ways: pure physical, Links, or Shield support, though there's nothing preventing a Landsknecht from using two builds at once if they have the skill points to spare. Like before, when building a Landsknecht around Links, make sure that the rest of the party has plenty of multi-hit skills to push it to its maximum potential. Things like the Nightseeker's Swift Edge, Pugilist's Resonance Blow, or Shogun's 5-Ring Sword will synergize perfectly with them. This time round, Links will follow-up 4 times on their own, meaning that a Landsknecht is less reliant on both Vanguard and Improved Link and can in fact have one or the other active with sufficient efficiency. The Landsknecht's own Trinity Force Boost functions like a temporary Vanguard, so one can start with just setting up Improved Link before turning on the Force Boost to maximize the strength of Links for the first three turns of the fight. Of note is Single Devotion, which gives a solid 20% boost to pure physical damage from the Landsknecht, making their Break skills and pure physical skills much more effective. This skill still can be used effectively in a Links build when setting up for a powerful Link Finale for massive burst. The Break debuff skills have also been improved, and they now affect both the physical and elemental parameters of the target. Speed Break is a new addition, and a debuff to an enemy's speed works better with the Landsknecht's kit in getting the jump on the target. Full Break is a powerful finishing move to complement the Break set, and can deliver tremendous results with the right equipment. For maximum efficiency, Full Break is best used on Guard Break unless your team already is supplying their own share of defense debuffs on the enemy. Bear in mind that with the loss of dual-wielding synergy passives, using both a sword and rapier is not as ideal as before. To reduce dependence on Vanguard, especially in boss fights, a rapier is preferred for its speed bonus. If you are not investing in the Break debuff skills, you can discard the shield in favor of boots to further improve the Landsknecht's speed. Stat Progression Does not include any stat bonuses from skills, equipment, Books, or Retirement. EO1 = |-| EOU = |-| EO2 = |-| EO2U = |-| EO4 = |-| EON = Skills Note: Skills are listed in the same order that is used in the game and do not necessarily unlock one after another. See the "Requires" column to see how to unlock a skill. If that column has dashes in it the skill is accessible at level one; no other skill is needed to unlock it. Skills are maxed at level 10. * Stat Increases ''and ''Passive Skills are passive benefits that grant bonuses without being activated. * Search Skills ''are out-of-battle skills, mostly for gathering materials or controlling monster behaviour. * ''Sword and Axe Skills are the Landsknechts' fighting abilities, allowing the use of those weapons for major damage. * Extra shows skill detail or any special bonuses that are gained at certain levels. Etrian Odyssey I EO1 = |-| EOU= Etrian Odyssey II EO2 = |-| EO2U = Etrian Odyssey IV Novice = |-| Veteran = |-| Master = Etrian Odyssey Nexus Novice = |-| Veteran = |-| Master = Grimoire Stones The Millennium Girl Skills to generate and pass: *'Triple Charge': Synergizes with ailment-inducing attacks, like Beheading Cut and Head Pierce. *'Tornado, Falcon Slash': For Sword-wielding Dark Hunters and Protectors to grant them the ability to hit multiple enemies. *'Double Strike': For party members that use their normal attack a lot. *'Recover': Allows a party member to nearly completely unbind themselves. Skills best used on a Landsknecht: *'Limitless' (Highlander): Allows a Landsknecht to utilize either Sword or Axe skills for the situation. *'Crit Up/High Caliber' (Ronin/Gunner): Land more and stronger critical hits while Double Striking. The Fafnir Knight Skills to generate and pass: *'Fencer': Passive boosts to criticals are incredibly helpful on physical attackers when traversing floors with a need to save on TP. *'Triple Charge': Bind/ailment accuracy boost works incredibly well with the ailment-inflicting skills of Dark Hunters and Hexers. *'Swordbreaker': Doesn't require any weapons, so any class can utilize this skill as a support option against phys-oriented enemies. *'Tornado, Falcon Slash': Easily given to War Magi, Dark Hunters, and Protectors for greater offensive area attacks. Skills best used on a Landsknecht: *'Elemental Sabres' (Fafnir): For Sword Landsknechts, these are a good way to bestow elemental damage without investment in Chasers. *'Resonance' (Fafnir): Can hit incredibly hard at max power, and can be further boosted through their Force Boost. *'Parry' (Protector): Have the Landsknecht occasionally use their shield for defending their allies. *'Drain Bite' (Dark Hunter): Allows the Landsknecht to steal life. *'Shield Rush' (Protector): Decent source of multi-hitting Bash damage for Sword-wielding Landsknechts. Subclassing EO4 = In Etrian Odyssey 4: Legends of the Titan, Landsknecht can opt for subclassing. They have a lot of options thanks to their flexibility and variety in skills, allowing them to make most subclassing options viable in order to further suit your needs. Subclasses for Landsknecht *'Nightseeker:' Subclassing them to Landsknecht further improves their offense thanks to Blade Flurry and Follow Trace, which when combined with the Landsknecht's innate Weapon Parry skill allows the Landsknecht to hit hard and take hits well. The Throw skills are not as potent due to the Landsknecht's low Luck stat, but access to Speed Boost will greatly aid the Landsknecht in doing damage during random encounters without needing to spend a turn setting up Vanguard. *'Fortress:' Landsknechts come in second place when it comes to durability, right behind the Fortress, so giving a Landsknecht a Fortress subclass allows them to double as a party tank while also boasting incredible Strength and good speed. Be mindful that without the Fortress class skills, the Landsknecht's shielding ability can be limited by their small TP pool. The need to shield other party members can also divide the Landsknecht's attention and require them to dedicate fewer turns to attacking, making Link combos difficult to exploit to their fullest. *'Medic:' Surprisingly, they can become pretty good emergency-healers thanks to Vanguard along with Full Heal/Revive. If you don't want to subclass Landsknecht to Medics, you can do it the other way and still obtain nice benefits - just beware of their TP which can become inconvenient when trying to use Medic skills. Stardrop works splendidly with Vanguard, Initiative, and the Landsknecht's class skills, greatly boosting the damage the rest of the party does to the target. *'Runemaster:' Runemasters possess Runic Flare and Runic Guidance to amplify the Link skills of the Landsknecht, and Free Energy and TP Boost to give them increased battle stamina to offset their otherwise small TP pool. Runic Shield also works alongside Landsknechts' Swordbreaker to offer more frontline defenses. Recommended for Link Landsknechts. *'Bushi:' One of the best options when it comes to raw damage, their Blood Surge and Charge along with Defiance increase your damage output to ridiculous levels, where even "Link" skills are affected. Deep Breath is also a staple for TP recovery during a protracted battle, and Endure gives Landsknechts an extra life. Very recommended if you're going for the most offensive approach. *'Imperial:' Bear in mind that Vanguard bypasses the slow speed of Drive skills, allowing the Landsknecht to land a powerful strike without worry of lowered defenses. Landsknechts with this subclass have two options to choose from - utilize the entire Link skill tree while being supplemented by a stacking Power Boost and Element Boost, or focus on Drive and Edge skills to speed cooldown along while also being greatly augmented by their own class skills. Either way, should a Landsknecht opt to take up the Drive Blade, they lose on Weapon Parry but can have an extra equipment slot for shields. Landsknecht as Subclass Landsknechts are just as flexible when being a subclass option, largely due to their Vanguard buff allowing a unit to bypass their otherwise low speed of their skills, access to shields, and several passives like Power Boost and Swordbreaker to raise the strength and durability for physically-oriented classes. *'Medics', combat or support, appreciate the speed granted by Vanguard to grant timely healing and revival to party members. Combat Medics can even strengthen their attack skills which greatly benefit from going first. *'Fortresses' not only get to bypass their mediocre speed, but also get to turn their shields into support weaponry via Power Break and Mind Break to help the party last longer against stronger enemies. Swordbreaker is also a handy passive that allows a Fortress to reduce incoming damage to their allies without needing a buff. *Dual-wielding Nightseekers and Bushi take up the class to gain access to Weapon Parry and Iron Wall to raise their defenses that are otherwise lowered due to wielding two weapons. The high speed of Nightseekers also let them exploit Initiative and establish Links without spending time to set up Vanguard. *'Imperials' gain access to Spiral Slice to do area damage to mobs. Vanguard also offsets the low speed of Drive Blade skills, letting them strike without worry of their lowered defenses. |-| EON = Subclasses are also a feature of Nexus to vary the adventurer's skillset. Subclasses for Landsknecht *'Protectors' may clash with the Landsknecht's offensive methods, but they do have some good offensive shield options. Shield Bash is a great area attack skill that offers another attack debuff that will stack with Power Break. HP Up and Elem DEF Up can also help extend a Landsknecht's lifespan on the battlefield, letting them be tankier even with Vanguard's defense penalty in place. Landsknechts taking this would often also eschew the Link tree; in which case their skill points can be devoted to Single Devotion for better damage output. *'Ronin' have very straightforward DPS passives in the form of Phys ATK Up, Duel, and Speed Up. Speed Up in particular is of great importance to let the Landsknecht go first without needing to use Vanguard. *'Imperials' pair well with Link-Focused and Stat-Break-Focused Landsknechts. Elem ATK Up is definitely a must for Linkers, and Absorber establishes some TP regeneration when using an effective Link or Drive Blade attack, contributing to stamina in drawn-out battles. HP Up also increases the Landsknecht's own durability. The Drive Blade skills combo well with Vanguard, Force Boost, and main class passives, as well as the main class' Guard Break, easily dealing multiple thousands of damage by late game to bosses in a single swing. Full Break (main class) and Heat Shield also contribute to overall damage output and damage mitigation while the drive blade is on cooldown. *'Harbingers' give Miasma Armor, which provides a speed boost that doesn't take up the Landsknecht's buff slot, and lets them easily use Improved Link at maximum efficiency. Endless Shroud becomes important for resetting Miasma Armor efficiently, and Landsknechts taking this subclass often invest in the Break debuffs which can trigger Endless Shroud. The low Luck stat of the Landsknecht impairs the effectiveness of Reap skills, though, and the other Harbinger debuffs can detract from desired DPS. *'Heroes' complement Landsknechts with a variety of offensive options. Wide Bravery operates excellently with Vanguard and Initiative for crowd control, and every other Sword skill used by the Hero lets a Landsknecht have access to elemental damage without needing to invest in Links. Encourage also lets the Landsknecht offer passive healing to the party before enemies can finish off low-health stragglers, and Heroic Bonds raises action speed to go first without needing Vanguard. The Shield skills may offer good damage reduction, but conflict with their role of striking first. A Landsknecht taking this subclass would typically focus on swords, and have to forsake rapiers and associated skills. Landsknecht as Subclass Although Landsknechts no longer have their defensive passives from Legends of the Titan, their Vanguard, Proficiency and Initiative skills are still valued for the tremendous speed bonus and physical attack boosts. *'Ronin' are already starved for skill points with their extensive skill tree, but Proficiency and Initiative work excellently in tandem with their high base Agility. In the right stance they will reap the benefits of those passives without any further input on their part. Ronin who focus on their stance's ultimate skills can also find value in Single Devotion to further amplify their damage. *'Survivalists' have incredible base Agility to immediately reap the benefits of Proficiency and Initiative without further setup, and to offset their low base damage. A lot of Survivalist attack skills are purely stab damage so they can benefit off Single Devotion easily, and Phys DEF Up and Status DEF Up will aid their resilience. *'Gunners' can abuse Vanguard with their Charge Shot skills to deal immense damage to enemies without compromising their defenses. Initiative also works well to offset their innate poor accuracy. Single Devotion is best used with their non-elemental attacks, and the combination of Vanguard, Initiative, Single Devotion on a Charge Shot can deliver devastating stab damage in one go. Phys DEF Up and shield use also helps mitigate their poor physical defense. *'Imperials' also can use Vanguard to launch powerful Drive skills without compromising defenses. Since Drive Blades can also be used for Sword skills, they gain several other offensive options in between Drive attacks. Falcon Slash in particular is great for finishing off low-health enemies, and Sword Tempest's speed penalty is irrelevant on the class with the lowest Agility. Access to shields will also improve their resilience in the front lines. *'Heroes' can also benefit greatly off the Landsknecht's own skills. Vanguard works well with their Wide Bravery, and getting the jump on the enemy also works well with Act Breaker. Alternative sword skills exist as well, like Spiral Slice and Sword Tempest if the other Hero skills are not to your liking. External Links * Team Building Guide by KholdStare88 for Etrian Odyssey 1 Gallery SekaijuNoOmochabako.jpg|Featured in Sekaiju no Omocha Bako's cover.|link=Sekaiju no Omocha Bako Landsknetch.png|Landsknecht Skill Tree Category:Etrian Odyssey I Classes Category:Etrian Odyssey II Classes Category:Etrian Odyssey IV Classes Category:Etrian Odyssey Untold Classes Category:Etrian Mystery Dungeon Classes Category:Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold Classes Category:Etrian Odyssey Nexus Classes